Minnesota Unveils New, Federally-Compliant Driver’s Licenses

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Driver and Vehicle Services division has unveiled their new, federally-compliant driver’s licenses and ID cards. The new design was needed to allow Minnesotans to use their driver’s licenses to enter federal buildings and board airplanes after 2020.

The new design will feature a canoeist floating in front of a horizon filled with pine trees instead of the state seal.

Importantly: The Pioneer Press notes that though the newly designed cards will be available Aug. 6, they won’t be federally compliant unless residents go back to renew their cards again in October. To help clear up confusion, residents who renew their IDs between Aug. 6 and Oct. 1 will receive cards that read: Not a federally compliant card.

Once the state begins to issue the federally-compliant cards, Minnesota residents wanting the upgraded cards will need to provide more documentation when renewing their licenses than they’d normally bring. This includes a document proving their identity such as a birth certificate, proof of their social security number and two documents proving their current residency.

Residents will need to swap out their current cards for the federally-compliant cards by Oct. 1,  2020, if they want to board an airplane. Those who opt not to get the federally-compliant cards, could still use a passport or an enhanced driver’s license to fly.

Hopefully the roll-out of the new licenses and ID cards will go more smoothly than MNLARS.